- Joined
- Jun 30, 2012
- Messages
- 14,087
I would not dare ride without an hydraulic steering damper. Even a friction damper is not enough to stop a bike from mishandling really badly, if it gets into crash mode. And it can happen with any steering geometry, even if it is rarer with some. I have also had guys tell me their bikes handle so well that they don't need the damper. I think they have just not ridden their bikes fast enough for it to grab them. With my Seeley, after I fitted the TZ fork yokes, it has never even looked like going into a tank slapper. However I'm always aware that if the rear suspension is set too soft, I might have to unwind the bike a bit coming out of corners as it self-steers.
I noticed in that article by Peter Williams, that at about the time of the 1971 TT when he was playing with the fork yokes, he also built a bike with the swing arm pivot mounted outside of the frame rails to get the footrests closer together. Apparently the slight movement in the frame destroyed the rider's confidence and he could not come out of corners going 10 tenths speed. It probably also had a steering geometry problem.
One thing that a lot of guys forget about is weight distribution. With the 1971 experimental bike, PW thought the weight was too far forward. I always try to get the weight as far forward as much as possible, because that stops the bike from feeling vague in the middle of corners. I think a lot of modern bikes have 50% weight on both wheels where I would have 80% 0n the front. It is a different concept and I think the angle of lean of modern bikes might sometimes be un-necessarily too extreme. The reason for this might be the much greater power levels that have to be contended with. I might be imagining it, but I think my Seeley leans less in corners these days. When I ride it in under brakes and get the power on very early, it seems to turn tightly of it's own volition, staying fairly upright.
The long and short of this is that I have always raced with underpowered bikes. I am still surprised that the JPN Monocoque was competitive against the big Japanese two-strokes at Silverstone.
I noticed in that article by Peter Williams, that at about the time of the 1971 TT when he was playing with the fork yokes, he also built a bike with the swing arm pivot mounted outside of the frame rails to get the footrests closer together. Apparently the slight movement in the frame destroyed the rider's confidence and he could not come out of corners going 10 tenths speed. It probably also had a steering geometry problem.
One thing that a lot of guys forget about is weight distribution. With the 1971 experimental bike, PW thought the weight was too far forward. I always try to get the weight as far forward as much as possible, because that stops the bike from feeling vague in the middle of corners. I think a lot of modern bikes have 50% weight on both wheels where I would have 80% 0n the front. It is a different concept and I think the angle of lean of modern bikes might sometimes be un-necessarily too extreme. The reason for this might be the much greater power levels that have to be contended with. I might be imagining it, but I think my Seeley leans less in corners these days. When I ride it in under brakes and get the power on very early, it seems to turn tightly of it's own volition, staying fairly upright.
The long and short of this is that I have always raced with underpowered bikes. I am still surprised that the JPN Monocoque was competitive against the big Japanese two-strokes at Silverstone.
